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Battle.net
Battle.net is an online gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment responsible for hosting StarCraft multiplayer games and related services. It was launched in January of 1997 with the release of Blizzard's action-RPG — Diablo. Battle.net was the first online gaming service incorporated directly into the games that make use of it, in contrast to the external interfaces used by the other online services at the time. This feature, along with ease of account creations and the absence of member fees, caused Battle.net to become popular among gamers and became a major selling point for Diablo and subsequent Blizzard games. Since the successful launch of Battle.net many companies have published online game services mimicking Blizzard's service package and the user interface. Features .]] With the release of StarCraft in 1998, usage of the Battle.net service increased significantly in comparison to Blizzard's previous games. Features such as ladder ranking and game filters were added to the service. Battle.net grew even larger after the release of the expansion pack StarCraft: Brood War. Concurrent player counts and games played reached the tens of thousands. This was especially evident in South Korea where StarCraft became a runaway hit and concurrent player counts on Battle.net would often be many times what they were in the United States. StarCraft also brought with it a new copyright protection scheme using CD keys. Under Diablo, Battle.net would allow anyone who had a copy of the game to connect to the service. This allowed people who pirated the game to play on Battle.net. With StarCraft, only those players who had a valid CD key were allowed onto the service. A StarCraft CD key is a generated 13-digit number that could either be muted (unable to chat), voided (restricted to channel 'The Void'), banned (disabled usage), or usually working (no restrictions). In addition, only one person can be connected to Battle.net service using a specific CD key at a time. Every Blizzard game since StarCraft has required a unique, valid CD key to connect to Battle.net (excluding StarCraft: Brood War). With the release of the Gateway system in Brood War, two players can play at the same time, as long as they are on different gateways, though they cannot play in the same game, chat with each other, etc. Battle.net 2.0 *A new version of battle.net launched on March 19, 2009. *Jay Wilson said the new version of battle.net should come out with StarCraft II."Well we have a brand new version of the Battle.net that is in the works. It’s going to come out with Starcraft 2. I cannot really steal their thunder in terms of the specific feature set, because that is their announcement to make." Garrett Fuller. 2008-09-04. Exclusive Diablo III Interview from Leipzig GC '08 - Full Transcript. Ten Ton Hammer Network. Accessed 2008-09-15. Frank Pearce said they probably won't be able to implement all plans by the time StarCraft II launches, but they can add more features to battle.net "as we go". *LAN will not be supported. Beta The new battle.net offers a StarCraft II beta opt-in and as of May 6, 2009 the beta opt-in page has been updated. Beta candidates can download a program which will scan their system and determine if it's capable of dealing with StarCraft II beta.Xordiah. 2009-05-06. StarCraft II Beta Test Opt-in (second post). Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-05-06.2009-03-19. Welcome to Battle.net. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2009-03-19. This new account is not compatible with StarCraft battle.net accounts or those of older games, but can be merged with World of Warcraft accounts.2009-03-19. Battle.net Account FAQ. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2009-03-19. North American gamers could download a program to scan their system to determine if it qualified for the StarCraft II beta on May 6th, 2009. European gamers gained access to the new battle.net on May 27th, 2009.Gunnar Petzall. 2009-05-27. European WoW Account Merge - StarCraft II Beta Soon. Incgamers. Accessed 2009-05-27. When StarCraft II's beta starts, beta key holders will be able to enter their keys using their account management page.Karune. 2009-03-20. BLUE question. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-20. StarCraft II has been delayed to at least 2010 to give adequate time to prepare battle.net.Cydra. 2009-08-05. StarCraft II Update. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-08-05. Accounts *A battle.net account is required to play StarCraft II. One of the first things a player does while installing StarCraft II is create a battle.net account.Gunnar Petzall. 2009-08-17. StarCraft II Developers Talk Single Player. Inc.Gamers. Accessed 2009-08-28. *An account contains a limited number of characters.Dustin Browder, Jessica Citizen. 2009-08-31. Games On Net chats about StarCraft II with Dustin Browder. Games On Net. Accessed 2009-09-02. Social Tools *Blizzard wants people to "find their friends quickly, to communicate with them, and to play together."Leord. 2008-09-01. Definite Battle.net 2.0 Features. DIIINet. Accessed 2008-09-02. They are discussing creating an online community, much like with World of Warcraft,Frank Pearce, Bob Colayco, Billy Berghammer. 2008-09-08. Crafting a Sequel for Everyone: The Frank Pearce Interview (page 3). Crispy Gamer. Accessed 2008-09-10. linking StarCraft II players with those of other franchises.Phil Elliott, Frank Pearce. 2008-09-02. Blizzard's Frank Pearce. GamesIndustry.biz. Accessed 2008-09-02. It intends for gamers to always be online, even when playing single-player. They will see the login screen before they play their first game, and can play as a "guest" for the campaign. You can include achievements in your profile, which will in turn give you access to decals.BlizzLive staff. 2009-08-22. StarCraft II Battle.net Discussion Panel. Blizzlive. Accessed 2009-08-25. *Players can form persistent "parties" which enter games together. *Players can access their friends list, even when playing single-player. Players can make a game private, only invite their friends, then later open it up to the public again.Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2009-08-24. BlizzCon 2009: Battle.net 2.0 and the Galaxy Editor’s Hour. StarCraft 2 Blog. Accessed 2009-08-29. *Chatting will be in an instant-messenger format. **Voice-over-internet chat has been proposed.Karune. 2007-09-14. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 13. StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-09-14. Achievements *Players of StarCraft II and Diablo III will share "gamer achievements", adding up to a Blizzard Level, in a similar manner to the system in World of Warcraft.Tracey John. 2008-08-01. Blizzard Plans To Track Gamer Achievements Across ‘WoW,’ ‘Starcraft’ And ‘Diablo’. MTV Multiplayer. Accessed 2008-08-01. They are available in single-player, but only if the player is connected to the internet.Gunnar Petzall. 2009-06-29. StarCraft 2 page 2. Inc.Gamers. Accessed 2009-06-29. battle.net profile|thumb]] Skill Levels *Battle.net features different leagues: Practice league, bronze, silver, gold, platinum and pro league. *The game features automated matchmaking, similar to Warcraft III. Players are assigned a skill level after 5 to 10 games.Webnet. 2009-08-17. Rob Pardo Q&A - Battle.net, Wings of Liberty, and more. StarCraft Source. Accessed 2009-08-29. Teams will have a separate rating.Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2009-08-24. BlizzCon 2009: Battle.net 2.0 and the Galaxy Editor’s Hour. StarCraft 2 Blog. Accessed 2009-08-29. Other Features *Cloud storage: Saved single-player games can be accessed online. (You could play the campaign at home, then continue it elsewhere.) *Lists of all available maps will be put on battle.net. They will have stats reflecting their popularity or genre. Some maps will even be available for sale in a marketplace.Webnet. 2009-08-21. Battle.net 2.0 and Custom Mapping. StarCraft Source. Accessed 2009-08-29. *Custom games filter: Games can be filtered by genre, not just "custom". *Blizzard intends to make the new version of battle.net secure from hacks and cheats2008-06-25. Chris Sigaty, Morten Skovgaard. Chris Sigaty Interview. StarCraft Wire. Accessed 2008-09-02. using lessons learned from World of Warcraft. For example, there will be a security token to add an extra layer of protection from account fraud, and the online platform will require a valid and unique CD key.Frank Pearce, Leord, AusGamers. 2008-09-19. AusGamers Video Interview with Frank Pearce. IncGamers/AusGamers. Accessed 2008-09-19. Monetization The new battle.net accounts will not have subscriptions or fees; this has been repeatedly directly confirmed by Blizzard Entertainment.Karune. 2009-06-04. When a player buys the StarCraft II box at retail, they will have the ability to play on the new Battle.net for free. For those listening to the latest Activision Blizzard conference call, Mike Morhaime also mentions it there as well. Why Battle.net 2.0 Needs a Subscription Fee. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-06-04.Medievaldragon. 2009-06-01. E3 2009: Battle.net 2.0 Paid Service a Possibility? StarCraft Wire. Accessed 2009-06-02. Following a BlizzCon Diablo III interview in which Activision Blizzard employee Julian Wilson mentioned "monetizing" battle.net, Rob Pardo clarified that only some extra features may carry a charge.Kevin Kelly. 2008-10-13. BlizzCon 2008: Rob Pardo talks Battle.Net monetizing. Joystiq Accessed 2008-10-13. Some special maps will be available for sale in the marketplace. Growth history Blizzard claims "millions of active users" on Battle.net, and that they are the leaders of online gaming, noting that even Xbox Live doesn't even come close.Ellie Gibson. 2006-08-25. GC: WOW Factor. Games Industry. By November 1997 they had 22 million games played, 1.25 million different users, and that they averaged 3,500 new users each day.Paul Sams, Barbara Walter. 2997-11-28. Battle.net Defines Its Success: An Interview with Paul Sams of Blizzard. Gamasutra. By April 1999, it was reported that Battle.net had 2.3 million active users, and more than 50,000 concurrent users.Greg Costikyan. 1999-04-21. Online gaming's store-shelf chains. Salon Tech. By September 2004, their active user count was up to nearly 12 million, spending more than 2.1 million hours online each day, and they had an average of 200,000 concurrent users, with a peak concurrent user count of 400,000.Court's Memorandum and Order (PDF). Electronic Frontier Foundation. By 2009 it had 12 million subscribers, just over World of Warcraft's 11.5 million.Webnet. 2009-08-22. WoW Dethroned as Largest Gaming Community. StarCraft Source. Accessed 2009-08-29. Forums On October 8th, 2008, Blizzard Entertainment opened the new battle.net forums. The StarCraft II forum is located at http://forums.battle.net/board.html?forumId=12009&sid=3000 Community A community of developers has arisen around Battle.net. Many unofficial clients are available for Battle.net, and most of the protocol used by Battle.net-enabled games has been reverse-engineered and published by volunteers. Also, several communication tools have been made, like a "whisper" tool, so that you could talk to your friends even if they were in a game. References External links * Battle.net website * Blizzard Entertainment website Category:Blizzard Entertainment